Cross My Heart
by custardpringle
Summary: A legendary inventor remembers his grandmother. "Star Trek" crossover.


TITLE: Cross My Heart AUTHOR: Cyn(di) EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com RATING: PG for language CATEGORY: general SUMMARY: A legendary inventor remembers his grandmother. Crossover with "Star Trek: First Contact." SPOILERS: none AUTHOR'S NOTE: This used to be posted in the "Star Trek" section, but I've moved it. I have no clue why, but it seemed like a good idea. It might help if you've seen "First Contact," though. And I don't own anybody from Star Trek or Stargate. Wish I did, but I don't. And I don't own Steppenwolf or any of their songs, either.  
  
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What is it with these spacemen, anyway? Cochrane wondered. They seemed to think he was such a great person. "You wanna know what my vision is?" he had to say finally. "Dollar signs. Money. I didn't build this ship to usher in a new era for humanity. I built this ship so I could retire to some tropical island filled with naked women. That's Zefram Cochrane. That's his vision."  
  
That Riker guy-annoying SOB that he was-smiled. He thought Cochrane was joking. Let him believe that. Who cared?  
  
And did they really expect him to believe any of this crap about aliens? That was stuff for crackpots. Why would aliens-if they existed at all- bother with a shithole like Earth? Why would they care?  
  
Then again . . . Hadn't he heard something about people visiting other planets and meeting aliens, a long time ago? Nah . . . probably something in the tabloids, back before the war when bull like that was still around.  
  
Wait. It hadn't been in the tabloids. It had been, of all people, his grandmother. Good old Grandma Samantha (although she preferred "Sam"), who had lived with him and his parents when he was a kid. Holy shit, that took him back.  
  
-----  
  
Grandma had had some friends visit her one day. Two men, one about her age with glasses, and another even older, had shown up unexpectedly. The only response she would give to Zefram's persistent questions was that they were old teammates from the Air Force. He was even more fascinated by this tidbit-"You were in the Air Force, Grandma? Really?"-but the three of them had simply withdrawn into the living room and firmly shut the door.  
  
They were still in there half an hour later, when Zefram's curiosity finally got the better of him. He gingerly cracked the door open and peered inside.  
  
"Is it just me or does it all seem a bit unreal?" his grandmother was saying wistfully.  
  
"Don't blame ya, Sam," the older man responded. We were visiting planets halfway across the galaxy, for crying out loud. And meeting people with snakes in their heads."  
  
"Not exactly normal stuff," the man with glasses agreed.  
  
These guys-and his grandmother, of all people-had been to other planets? And no one had ever even heard about it? Zefram swayed a little in shock, lost his balance, and cracked his head hard against the doorpost.  
  
The older man turned sharply. "What was that?"  
  
Sam smiled. "Probably my grandson Zefram. I should've guessed we couldn't keep him out." "Alright, Zefram," the man barked. "Get over here, would ya?" The boy obeyed, trembling. "Now just what do you think you were doing over there?"  
  
"Jack," the other man said quietly, "He's only a kid. Don't be too hard on him."  
  
"He was spying on us, Daniel."  
  
"And you're getting paranoid in your old age."  
  
"When was I ever not paranoid?" Jack retorted, but he stopped scowling.  
  
"Okay, Zefram," Daniel said kindly. "How much did you hear?"  
  
"Only the last minute or two," Zefram stammered, "About other planets, and people with snakes in their heads."  
  
Daniel laughed. "Actually, it was all about stuff like that. But we're not mad, okay? Just promise not to tell anyone about it."  
  
The boy nodded solemnly. "I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die, honest."  
  
Jack nodded, no longer angry, and ruffled Zefram's hair affectionately. "We believe you, kid, don't worry. Run along and play now, and remember this is absolutely secret."  
  
-----  
  
Wow. He couldn't believe he'd totally forgotten that day. He'd never told anyone about it, and he never would. Especially not those snotty star trekkers.  
  
Cochrane smiled to himself as that women-Dana, was it?-began the final countdown. Whether there really were aliens out there, and whether his grandmother had really seen them, didn't matter right now. What he needed was to find that damn Steppenwolf crystal.  
  
Ha. Here was the little bastard. He plugged it into the player.  
  
"Well, you don't know what we could find/  
  
Why don't you come with me, little girl, on a magic carpet ride?"  
  
If there were aliens somewhere-robot people, pointy-eared people, people with snakes in their heads-well then, so much the better.  
  
Whatever happened, this was going to be one hell of a ride. 


End file.
